In the sports of surfing and wave riding, there are several ways for a person to ride a wave. For example, the rider may stand, kneel, sit, or ride prone within or on the surface of a wave. In wakeboarding, a rider is pulled across the surface of a wave created by a towing powered water craft.
Several sports include the use of a board as essential equipment, and so may be referred to as “board sports.” Board sports include, for example, wakeboarding, snowboarding, surfing, paddelboarding, windsurfing, boogie boarding, and kitesurfing. Surfboards come in various sizes, the smallest being so-called “boogie boards” (upon which most riders rarely stand), and the largest being so-called “stand-up paddle” (SUP) boards (upon which a surfer is usually in a standing position even when not riding a wave). So-called “short boards” and “long boards” are surfboards (upon which a surfer typically alternates between prone and kneeling or standing positions) that are larger than boogie boards but smaller than SUP boards. Surfboards can be so-called “soft boards” made of foam, or “hard boards” typically made of foam encased in substantially rigid fiberglass, carbon/epoxy composite, and/or wood.
Windsurfing boards can range in size from being approximately the size of a short board, to being the size of a SUP board. Paddle boards, which include ocean rescue paddle boards, may be as large as, and often even longer than, SUP boards. Kitesurfing boards are generally smaller than short boards, but larger than boogie boards. Snowboards are generally narrower and smaller than short boards, while being longer than most skateboards. Some boards and other devices originally conceived for use in liquid water (e.g. boogie boards) have been used or adapted for use in snow, and such adaptations are contemplated herein.
However, many wave riders do not use a board at all. For example, body surfing is not considered to be a “board sport,” because the body surfer does not stand, sit, kneel, or even lie prone upon a board. That is, the weight of the body surfer is not supported by the planing action of the board surface planing on the water surface. Rather, the body surfer planes across the surface of the water with his or her body, with his/her weight supported by the planing action of the major surfaces of the natural body (chest, abdomen, legs) on the water surface.
Many body surfers control their ride by positioning (e.g. twisting or angling) only natural body surfaces (chest, abdomen, legs) that are planing on the water surface or dragging through the water. However, some body surfers find that they can improve or better initiate or control their ride by attaching fins to their feet and/or using conventional flat planar paddles on their hands. For example, a body surfer may temporarily transfer some upper body weight to be partially supported by the planing action of hand paddles, to enhance speed or control while riding a wave.
The prior art is crowded with issued patents on specific aspects and improvements to hand paddles for body surfing. For example, several issued US patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,842 to Connor, U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,551 to Davis, U.S. D263,860 to Cole, U.S. D318,894 to Harling, U.S. D321,547 to Albrecht, and U.S. D329,633 to Rogers, disclose and claim specific aspects, features and/or improvements to hand paddles that may be used for body surfing.
Still, the surface area and buoyancy of flat hand-sized paddles is inherently limited, and there remains a need in the art for improved devices to enhance body surfing. For example, there is an ongoing need in the art for devices that may provide more support and/or more control to a body surfer, than can hand paddles.